Baton Rouge -- LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger had his breakout game against Alabama with a career-high 298 yards passing, but there's another side to that story. Having an equally big night were the players on the other
end of Mettenberger's passes.

LSU wide receivers combined to catch 16 balls for
186 yards and were a big reason LSU was able to convert on third down.

The season-high in receptions was also only one half of the
story for the wideouts. They said it was a season-best at running routes
efficiently and effectively, something the average fan might take for granted.
They did it against the No. 1-rated pass defense in the nation and hope to keep doing it with the No. 9 Tigers hosting No. 23 Mississippi State Saturday.

"You don't just run downfield and turn around and wait,"
said wide receiver Kadron Boone, who caught four for 37 yards. "You've got to read the
defense first and understand what you are getting. Then you've got to come out
of the route a particular way because the quarterback is going to be throwing
the ball to a certain spot. We're not just out there running free. You might
get mis-routed and you have to bounce back from that."

Said LSU Coach Les Miles: "I felt the route running is
continually better. It's coming. They realize the importance of their
contribution. All of our receivers are improved."

Jarvis Landry said the chemistry and the confidence with quarterback
Zach Mettenberger, in his first season as a starter, hasn't always been there
but it has been building. Because the passing attack has so many working parts,
including pass protection, it doesn't take much to throw it off. One of 11
offensive players making a tiniest of errors can lead to an incompletion.

Jarvis Landry snags this touchdown pass from Zach Mettenberger against Alabama on a night when the LSU passing game shined. Matthew Hinton, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

"There are still some little things we didn't get right on
Saturday," said Landry, who caught a career-high eight balls for 76 yards and a
touchdown. "Some things we didn't hit on. We had three dropped balls, myself
included. It was nothing that was overwhelming. When we were given
opportunities we took advantage of them for the most part."

The crowning moment came between Mettenberger and Landry
when he grabbed a perfectly executed, back-shoulder fade pass from Mettenberger
for LSU's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, a 14-yard play.

Landry had single coverage from Alabama cornerback Deion Blue. He ran a fake
slant and then cut straight upfield. Belue had him covered but Landry turned and
made the catch on a ball thrown behind Belue.

"It was a perfectly placed ball," Landry said. "There was
nothing the defender could have done. If Zach had thrown it over the top, he
(Belue) could have knocked my arms down. It was something that we worked on the
whole week that we missed countless times in games. This time I wanted to make
sure I kept running and he back-shouldered me."

As the connections piled up, Mettenberger's confidence grew.
Boone and Landry had dropped back-to-back passes in the first half but
Mettenberger completed 14 of 17 in the second half.

"The biggest thing is when you go out and execute, all 11
guys doing the right thing, it leads to games like that," Mettenberger said.
"The biggest thing is to keep progressing from here and do better next week.

"They really honed in on running their route the way they
are supposed to be run. We had a lot of big plays because they were getting
separation from very good Alabama DBs. If they keep playing like that our
passing game is going to be pretty effective."

Landry continues to lead LSU with 31 receptions for 292
yards and two scores. Beckham, who caught four passes for 73 yards Saturday,
has 30 for 493 yards and two touchdowns. Boone has 19 receptions for 269 yards
and four scores.

Boone said he and the other receivers were tired of the talk
all season about incorrectly run routes. At least they had stopped talking
about dropped passes. LSU receivers had eight dropped passes in the first four
games and while Mettenberger struggled, too, those weren't helping anyone's
confidence.

Mettenberger and the receivers insisted they were all making
plays in practice but when the activity shifted to the game, there was always
some small aspect out of place.

"The chemistry we had with Zach really showed Saturday,"
Boone said. "We showed that we can throw the ball well. We just have to do it
consistently. That was the Zach we've been seeing in practice. Everything
was clicking.

"Coach always tells us be where you're supposed to be when
you're supposed to be and how you're supposed to be. We know Zach is going to
put the ball in the right spots to keep it away from the defender. You've got
to be there ready to make a big play."